


Flames and Cactus Quills

by JusticeFllash



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Original Character(s), Original Story - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-18 13:53:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19335856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JusticeFllash/pseuds/JusticeFllash
Summary: Hi, I'm a seventeen-year-old writer who finished his second draft of a story four years in the making. Read it, tell me what's wrong.Justin is a teen with superpowers. He can do things with fire and rock. He kinda just wanted to live life without being a hero and just kinda have powers. Maybe he'd do the stripping thing, maybe he would open a rabbit farm? He doesn't know. But when an organization takes his parents he has to jump into saving them. But know what?





	1. Chapter 1

One kid stood tall in front of a smaller group of four. He didn’t know what he was doing, he’s only eight. Everything about the kid, from his hair to his breathing, was calm. 

     Almost too clam.

     There were four kids behind him crying out, telling their big brother to stand down. The kid didn’t, he was determined to protect his brothers. Protect them no mater what.

     “You idiot child! I knew you were a bad idea, I don’t give a damn about this money anymore you demon spawn!” Yelled the grey man who raised them for two years.

     The grey man held up a glowing metal stick, a stick the child knew all too well. It was just a simple stick with a wooden handle. The kid was all too familiar with it. 

     The kid backed up a bit.

     “Yeah, you know this stick, don’t you?” 

      The kid brushed over the burn marks the skin left on his skin, specked all over his face. The Grey man used it on him as punishment. Punishment for anything. Did he trip? Punishment. Did he not do his chores eight away? Punishment. He knew it all too well...

      The kid swung his hand and without making contact with the stick it was knocked out of the grey man’s grip. 

      This stunned the man for a second. He stood shook. “This... this is what I mean! You’re an absolute demon child! I bet those kids are too! You’re going to spread it to them! Honey, get mah gun!” The grey man yelled out angrily. “I’m going to Old Yeller them!” Soon a young fake looking orange woman ran in, her hair bigger than her head and an inch of makeup stuck to her face. She carried a shotgun.

     “He ya go hon,” said the lady as she handed him the gun.

     The grey man quickly cocked the gun. He aimed it without the kid moving. “Die!” 

      With a blast if the gun the kid erupted in fire. The area around him caught on fire with him, everything but the four kids behind him.

      “No you!” The house collapsed on the three people standing off, leaving the four kids save.


	2. Justin Emon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Third character owo

The kid woke up three days later in a hospital room. His head was wrapped with bandages and his hair was cut short. He wasn’t injured in anyway. A man stood in front of his bed. 

      The kid sat up on high alert. “Hello, Justin.” Said the man with stupid looking orange hair. “Do you recognize me?”

     Justin shook his head. 

     The man simply sighed. “You can call me Dr. Montgomery if you want.” He said as he pulled out a picture of two people. One grey and the other orange. “Do you recognize these people.”

     Justin shook his head again.

     “Yeah, figured.” Dr. Montgomery said as he pulled up another picture from his phone. This one had four kids on it. “How about them, do you recognize them?” He asked in a light voice.

     Justin shook his head yet again.

     “Yep, well nothing much I can do about this.” Dr. Montgomery said as he slipped his phone into his pocket. “Come on, your going home.”

      

      Justin went with the doctor willingly with little reluctance. Dr. Montgomery took Justin to a house with a family of three. A mom, a dad, and a kid the same as Justin. Lisa, Fred, and Fredrick respectively. Fredrick looked almost exactly like Justin. They were twins.

      Justin was able to fit in well, becoming just another part of the family within a year. He started school to little success with no friends and not being at the level he should be. That was the only real struggle. Justin was oddly normal. By the age of ten the idea of Justin Keezer wasn’t a thing to worry about, he’s Justin Emon.


	3. The end of summer and my freedom as a man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Justin Emon pov)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Real story now...

So there I was. Sitting in a cheap fold up chair, sun tea in my cup holder, bored out of my damn mind. My parents do this thing every year, the end of summer bash with the whole street. Mainly old people and a family of girls about my age who are also adopted. Seeing how cool it was that my parents took me and my brother in inspired them apparently. They’re very much unimportant to me.

     On that topic, my brother. Fredrick Emon, the less cute and dumber foil to me, Justin Emon.  Fredrick’s off at some boarding school for gifted children in Canada. I missed enrollment by a few years. My parents got me late, by a few years. Eight years, exactly. They were my first birthday present.

     My parents! A teacher and a school board mom. Guess what my dad teaches now it’s hard. Hard considering he’s showing off his clarinet skills to a group of older fellows. He’s a band teacher, the noblest of teachers a school can have. My mom is taking with a few of her girlfriends. I’m sitting next to her, trailing her like a lost cat. 

     “Oh you kid, why don’t you go do something like play with those pretty ladies over there? They’re your age.” Said an old man to me, me. Me, the notorious homosexual. Me, the owner of a Star tube channel with over five million subscribers. Me, the Flame Boy.

     Flame Boy is defined in the Justster dictionary as Kid that managed to get a nickname by a cute boy when he was ten and has had a crush on ever since.

     I’m gayyyy, said the inner deepest version of mind Justin. Real me just smiled. “I’m good here, Mr. Hill. Besides, me talking with girls so out of my league? Hell no.” 

     This got the old man to smile. I did my job and talked with one person here. I’d much rather be anywhere else. So let’s go!

     I tapped my mother’s shoulders. She was drinking but not buzzed. I told her that I’m going and left before she could say no.

 

    There are three places I like being at. One is my room, one is a room in the band class that’s quite and nice to eat in, and one is the fort I’ve made in the middle of the woods near my house when I was thirteen. None of those are being on a street, full of old people are constantly telling you how much you’ve grown or asked if I have a girlfriend. It’s annoying but you can’t be mad. They could be bad old people. Like old white guys running countries with large sums of money.

     So I’m pretty sure my fort perfectly secluded from the world. It was a small hunting shack, it’s roof completely collapsed in on itself when I found it. Now it’s a rock fortress with a small Dr. M brand generator that powered my small fridge(full of diet Dr. Pepper) and a lamp. 

     When I’m here I’m doing one of three things. Belting out musical numbers from whatever musical I've gotten myself attached to(Spring Awakening and Mamma Mia currently), reading a romance book, or practicing my powers.

     Oh right, I haven’t talked about my powers. I can manipulate fire and the ground, am completely flame retardant and have skin thicker than an elephant. I’m as skinny as a twig though, I’d never considered using them to help. My brother Fredrick is the exact opposite. He had the same skin and flame retardant stuff but he can manipulate air and water. He’s being trained on that now actually. He’s a hero.

     I am not.

     So I take out my phone and play Justin’s horrible hodgepodge of honestly horrible music. I couldn’t find an H word for music. The Birch of Living from Spring Awakening plays. A song I know. I begin to badly belt the lyrics.

    The sudden laughter made me stop and kinda just jolt. “Who’s there!” I yelled.

    “I’m sorry Flameboy, I honestly didn’t mean to intrude like this.” Said the bird sitting in my fort.

     I know no one in my school. The one person I got close to did things I don’t want to talk about. That being said. There is one person I talk to openly. He calls me Flameboy due to my powers. I call him Animal Lad. His real name is Peter Pillin. A big blue haired jockish lug of a man on a normal occasion. Right now he’s a chickadee.

    “How the hell did you? What? Why are you here?” I said very quickly. Like, rap god level quickly. I couldn’t even understand myself and went back. “What?”

     Peter flew down to the ground and changed into the jock level beef boy. “Woah dude, calm down. I asked your mom where you went, I saw the party and wanted to talk to you about something. She told me the directions to here.”

     That snitch. “Okay, then why are you here?” I asked. “It couldn’t be because you’re in need of fashion advice or some cute kid to subdue a bully?”

     Peter smiled. “I’ll tell you that later.” He rested his shoulder on the doorway, a log fell.”But first, I have nothing to do any more until school. You want some help here? I want to say this place is pretty rustic looking but that’s pushing the word a shit ton, bro.”

     “I think this place is perfect,” I said definitely. As I did a stick broke and a wall collapsed. “You know, I do have very things you could do.”

    “Yeah, you could use some kind of muscle in this project. You’re majorly lacking in it, dude.” Peter said grinning stupidly.

     “I am the normal size for my age!” I said. “The doctor called me a late bloomer. And I don’t have any fat on my body so hah!”

     Peter held his hands up defensively. “Woah, calm down. So can I help you?”

     “If you’re open to working with no pay.”

     

     Getting Peter’s help in this mess of a project was too easy, right? Like, he’s being too nice. I don’t know... maybe he’s messing with me.

     My uncle, a man who has everyone but Fredrick and I call him Dr. Montgomery, is a very smart man. He’s in charge of a group of teenage powered kids, one of them being Peter. He has tried to get me on the team, I refused because it didn’t sound fun and because of Julie Grace.

     Peter Pillin can change into animals. As you saw. My uncle told me he has to have seen them, so no elephants or rhinos or anything cool. He gets chipmunks and white-tailed deer. The noblest of deer mind you, but still really underwhelming in anything short of a deer off. That’s also where I got the nickname Animal Lad from. It was funny to the nine-year-old that made it up.

     Peter was great at digging holes and lifting heavy shit. I’m a great planner and teller to doer. We managed to improve the fort’s walls pretty well in the few hours we were out here. Not much talking, I am V awkward.

     We both sat down at the steam that runs by my fort and cracked open a cold one... of Dr. Pepper. We are underaged. 

     “So, that was The Bitch of Living, right?” Peter asked me. “The song you were singing when I got here.”

     “You know it?”

     “I played the character who sang it,” Peter admitted. “One of the funner roles I’ve been in.”

     “No shit?”

     “No shit, I did bro,” Peter said. “Spring Awakening was the last thing I did. Now I’m on to Heathers, I play Ram.”

     “No shit!” I said again, this time more hyped. “You don’t seem like the... musical actor type.”

     “I would’ve guessed a guy like you wouldn’t stereotype like that. Just because you probably think I’m jock I’m just that, bro.” Peter said. “Well I’m not, I have dreams and admirations like the rest of you low to the earth nerdy gay kids.”

     “Uh yeah, like sports and hero,” I said. “Mr. Wrestling to state.”

     “On that!” Peter suddenly shouted. “How would you, Mr. Emon who really has nothing special to him like I do, like to join in one of my two groups of friends?”

     “I’m assuming this is a team thing and that you know I won’t join your team of jocks.” 

     Peter innocently shook his head. 

     “I already have a friend.” The faint echo of French laughter haunts me. “Online.”

     “Dude, online friends aren’t any fun! Like, I wrestled this one guy and added him on Tacc Chat and all we do is send each other wrestling memes, bro. It’s not fun, bro.”

    “I’ll think about it.”

     Peter smiled at me. “He’ll think about it.” He sang. 

     “But only when school starts,” I said. “The team, that whole thing. Uncle Montgomery keeps trying to get me to join.”

     “Is your brother also coming in? Dr. Montgomery told me about him and like, he sounds as promising as you, dude.”

    “Even more, he’s trained.”

     “Trained?”

     “Yeah, he goes to some big ass school. He knows how to save people professionally. Like damsel on a train track. A modern day Popeye.”

     “Don’t knock Popeye bro. He can easily defeat anyone who tries him.” Peter said. “Like Buggs Bunny.”

     “Because Popeye can stand to Buggs Bunny.”

     “And Kirby,” Peter said. “Heroes to strive to be.”

     “I could punt Kirby.”

     “You play football?” Peter asked.

      I laughed.

      “Okay okay, I see how it is. Do you play anything? Have fun like that?”

      “I once won a comic trivia thing and got a verified on that app,” I said.

     Peter and I talked a bit more. He finally crushed the can he had and put it in his pocket. I have a trash can out here, he didn’t need to do that. “I’ ma go now, see you soon then Flame Boy.”

     “Anytime, Animal Lad.”


	4. Fredrick gotten thick man

 

          I used a rock hover technique to fly out of the forest. I always keep a hand-sized rock in my pocket for this situation. It’s my own way of flying. I hold onto the rock and make it hover though the air. It’s about all I can do, it’s faster than me. The only downside is that it makes me look like a dead cow in a Peta ad.

     I looked really dumb in summary.

    When I reached the end of the forest and the start of my walk home it was only just starting to get dark. My house is two blocks away. It’s a two block walk, jog? It’s a two block run. I ran that. Let’s go with that. It makes me seem cooler.

     I got home to my parents doing more mundane tasks. They’re sitting in the living room watching the Price Might Be Right. An E-Landian knock off of an American game show called The Price Is Right. My uncle hates it because it doesn’t have someone even close to Bob Barker on it. I don’t know who that is but want to agree with him.

     “Fredrick’s not here?” I asked in between panting.

     “Not yet, Dr. Montgomery is always right on time.” My mom said from the couch. “Oh yeah, did I tell you he’ll be staying here for the rest of high school? I was going to tell you that before you ran off.”

     My phone buzzed at the comment.

     I’m parked with Montgomery a block away from home. Firstly,  I saw you running nice hustle, need a better posture. Secondly, can you tell mom and dad to not freak out? Sent my brother though text.

    FIRSTLY, how dare you not tell me you’re going to be going to my school! Secondly, I will for a price with like ten money emojis. 

     Add it to my tab. I’m going to sneak around back.

     I’m going to tell them. Like, he mentioned the tab. He never pays up, I never use it. He uses my tab all the time, I’m very honored. But that tab ruined the deal.

     I went to plop down on the couch next to my mom. She has a lot of special things for her stomach and baby thing. She’s deep pregnant right now, something I forgot to mention.

     “So when Freddy gets here we’re going to have to freak out, right?” I asked.

     “Fredrick is coming home to stay, of course, we’re going to.” My dad said. 

     “Well, Fredrick asked me to tell you to not do that... he’s also going to try to sneak through the back door. Want me to lock it?”

     “This is why you’re my favorite, Justin. You’re honest.” My dad said jokingly.

     “Go get the cake.” My mom said to my dad. “You’re going to need to bring it to the backdoor. Justin, go lock the front door and turn off the kitchen lights.”

     My mom got up and my dad rushed to her side. “Woah there honey, you shouldn’t be getting up so quickly.”

     “I’m pregnant, not disabled.” My mom said as she walked towards the back door. “I was a queen once.”

     My parents like to joke about that. I think they were actors once, that’s how they met my uncle. They’ll jokingly bring up past roles like space adventurer or royalty. I hate it...

     I rushed to the kitchen and turned off the lights. Five minutes until seven. Doing as told I made it to my parents, who turned everything else off in the house.

     “Isn’t this a little over the top?” I asked.

     My dad hushed me. A complete silence washed over the house as we waited. Exactly when seven hit Fredrick opened the door. Both my dad and I engulfed ourselves in a harmless fire.

     “Surprise!” We yelled.

     For a slip second, I could see the betrayal in my brother's eyes. I lost it when he fell back to the ground. Both the look and my composure. The dam broke and I began laughing.

     “Oh my god, Fredrick!” My mom tried to rush to his side. But my dad’s overprotective and stopped her.

     “It’s ok, I’m fine,” Fredrick told her as he got up and dusted himself off. “Justin you dickwad!”

     “Dickwad? I expect better from you.” I said. “‘Justin you shitstain’ or ‘Justin you pice of actual scum on earth’ or even a ‘Justin you lazy excuse of a brother, how dare you tell them. I’m quitting you!’”

     “Boys, language!” My mom yelled. 

     “He started it...”

     My dad stopped all of us. “Are we going to eat this cake or...”

     “Put out the fire first. Then we get cake.” My mom said.

     “Him or me?” I asked.

     “Both of you.”

     “Fredrick quickly! Cover yourself with water! Outnumber her!” I urged him.

     “She’s already outnumbered, Justin,” Fredrick said.

      My mom and dad left. More like my mom left and my dad fallowed to make sure she’s ok. Fredrick and I stood nice to each other. 

     Fredrick’s bigger than me. His arms and chest are much more defined than mine. I don’t have any fat on my body, the dictionary definition of skin and bones, while my brother puts work into him. He’s not Peter beef but he’s up there. We have the same color skin, down to the tan. I’d describe it as more caramel color. We both have black hair but we wear them differently. Mine’s longer, nicely combed and rests almost bread like. Fredrick keeps it tight and locked down. Finally, I have clearer skin, minus mystery burn marks, from the care I give to my face. We’re both very typical Native American looking boys.

     “I trusted you, Justin,” Fredrick said to me.

     “Life’s a bitch, Fredward,” I said. I tried to keep up this stern facade but broke it instantly by holding out my arms. “But come on, buddy! I missed you.”

     “I want cake,” Fredrick said as he completely passed me up leaving me cold and alone and without a hug. Hyperbole and all that.

      I am a reasonable person. I tackled him with a hug.

     “Justin!” Fredrick yelled. 

     “You can’t just walk past a hug like that, Freddick. I’m a force, undefined and unstoppable.”

    “More like unnecessary and annoying. Let go of me.”

     I did.

     The rest of the night was just us being a family. Fredrick was telling stories about his time as a camp counselor in control of a bunch of ten-year-olds with powers. The idea sounds scary. Of corse, it was right up his ally. Fredrick’s dumb like that. Anyway, I took him down to my room.

     “I can make you a bed, we’ll need a shit ton of blankets,” I said. “Stone is hard.”

     “Where’s my bed, Justin?” Fredrick asked.

     I laughed awkwardly. “So... you want to play some E.T.A. with me? I can make you an account and play from my phone. You’ll get a computer.”

     Fredrick looked concerned and confused at the mention of E.T.A. It’s almost like he never heard of the greatest MMO of this generation. The game Frenchy and I can play basically all night. 

      Frenchy is a dude with a probably fake French accent that plays with me for the clout.

     “E.T.A is a pretty cool MMO I and my friend plays. Have you heard of The Elementalist at least?” I asked.

     Fredrick nodded his head. “I have, a few of the older kids mentioned it a few times. He’s a gamer.”

     “He’s me,” I said.

     “I think I would’ve noticed you if you were one of these high-end StarTubers,” Fredrick said.

     I opened my The Elementalist Tacc Chat page. “Look and be amazed. That’s like six digits baby!”

     Fredrick still looked skeptical. “So you actually have a friend? Whenever you text me it’s all ‘oh I’m so alone! No one but me understands me! I’m just a lonely loner on a lonely road... alone.’” Fredrick said mocking my voice. 

     We have distinct voices. I sound more... loose, sluggish, and slurred with a higher pitch. Fredrick sounds like my own Shadow The Hedgehog. Sharper and deep. We decided to start this because so many people got us confused for little girls and each other. 

     “I said that all ironically and you know that! Besides, I can make friends if I wanted to. In fact, I spent all day with this kid named Peter Pillin. A jockish kid with blue hair.”

     “Yeah, I wouldn’t know him, right? Goes to another school right?” Fredrick asked.

     “Shut up!” I said. “All your friends are basically nonexistent. They go to a different school.”

     Fredrick laughed. “So how close is mom?” Fredrick asked. 

     “She has a few more weeks,” I said. “And just wait, she’ll be sure to remind you the second she doesn’t want to make herself a sandwich.”

     “Sounds like mom,” Fredrick said. “So about my bed...”

     

     I forced Fredrick to play E.T.A. with me while ignoring Frenchy’s calls. He just isn’t ready to learn about the second me. Also, Frenchy doesn’t know my real name and I want to keep it like that. At around threeish we went to bed, I had to give up my bed for him.

 

     “Hey, Justin! Wake up!”

     I slowly opened my eyes. I wasn’t in my bed, I was laying on a rock. It was covered in moss so it’s comfy. So I closed my eyes again.

     “Give me time,” I said.

     Water slashed over my face and I jolted up. Fredrick was standing over me in his old school uniform. It’s incredibly generic looking.

     “Do you recognize this place?” Fredrick asked me. “We’re still asleep and everything, I don’t know why we’re here.”

     “How do you know we’re still asleep?” I asked. 

     Fredrick made me hover without any air. “I have control here.”

     “Wait!” With a thought, I created myself a sandwich, one from a diner about three states away. Exactly the same, with the same taste. “Yoooooo!”

     “You have all this power and you do this?” Fredrick asked me. 

     “What’s unlimited power if not used for your own good? Aladdin used it to get the girl, I used mine for a sandwich.”

     A small giggle echoed through Fredrick and me. “Sounds like him.” Said a smaller version of my voice. “Totally a Justin move.”

     Fredrick and I turned around, looking for the source of the voice. There wasn’t anyone here.

     “And now Fredrick’s going to think of a good solution and reason for me.” The voice finished. “Sounds like a Fredrick thing to do.”

    The voice came from behind us. It always came from behind us. Even if I spun.

    “Justin, are you doing this?” Fredrick asked me.

     “If I was would I be so confused?” I asked.

     “It’s me!” The voice said. 

     In front of us a small, rugged, younger me appeared. Me specifically, the scares on his face make that apparent.

     “Who are you?” Fredrick asked him. “How are you doing this?”

     The kid was floating aimlessly around the two of us. “I don’t know what exactly I am. Although I’ve always been fond of the name Aaron. The two A name. I don’t know why though. Or maybe my name’s Justinn with two Ns.” The kid said.

     “Why are you here then?” Fredrick asked again. 

     “I couldn’t tell you. I’m just kinda living.” The kid said innocently smiling. “I can tell you I’m the same as Justin, a sudden voice in a head after a head injury.”

     Fredrick looked to me for answers. “Is this new to you?” 

     “I’ve never seen him.”

     “Gah, you kids are so boring. Just call me Flash for now, like Justice Flash. I don’t know what I am but I know I’m bored as shit.”

     “You look eight, language,” Fredrick said.

     “This is not the time to be worried about swearing, Fredward,” I said. “Is this camp consular Fredwad kicking in?”

     “He looks eight, he shouldn’t be swearing,” Fredrick said. “Whatever, what is this place then? I’m guessing this is some dream world thing.”

     “Ding ding ding! You’re right on it. You’ll both remember this too, I’ve been experimenting with this. You guys remember those oddly real dreams about the whale?”

     Both Fredrick and I loudly “ohh!” together. We then turned to point at each other. “You had that same dream!” We asked each other in unison.

     “That was me.” The kid said. “Come back soon.”

     He snapped his finger and I woke up.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey... I know how this starts but like, it's needed bebe. Please point out errors if you see them. Have something about my writing? Go ham, dude. That's why I'm putting this here.


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